Awaam Blog is a forum to discuss and rethink the issues and concepts concerning norms and values, which have crept into the body of religious, social and cultural corpus. These combined with ignorance and stagnant intellect have restricted and hindered the pursuit of human welfare & happiness. We aim to rethink every issue with free mind.

Speed Literacy Program [SLP]

SLP is a unique program of teaching developed by Vision21 Foundation, with an explicit mission to speed literate the illiterate children aging between 7-15 years upto the eighth standard, in a period of one year.

Mission

To promote the aptitude of learning, thinking and understanding in children by providing them with the skill of reading and writing

It is an unfortunate fact that despite education being the priority on social reform agenda at the policy level, and every one paying lip service to the cause and urgency of the problem of mass illiteracy, we see thousands of children around who are deprived of the right of education due to variety of reasons.

Poverty and lack of opportunity pushes them to end up being rag pickers, car boys, vendors, and domestic child workers. Pakistan is bracketed with the world’s poorest regions when it comes to education.

Pakistan’s ranking in public spending on education is the lowest in the region and continues to be poor. According to the statistics the total enrollment in the primary schools is nearly 22 million. The net enrollment ratio of the children aging between 5-9 years in Pakistan is 57 %. At least on paper. This still means that a staggering 43 % never enroll.

Illiteracy remains prevalent in girls, communities of rural areas, and among the members of poor households. Our plan is an effort to diminish the huge disparity of opportunity and access to literacy between the children of privileged and the underprivileged classes in Pakistan and to promote the ability to read, write and understand among the children and above all provide them with a tool to grow further.

According to all Pakistan Labor Force Survey 2007 and 2008, over 21 million child laborers are working in the country out of which 73 percent are boys and 27 percent are girls. The age group of these child laborers is between 10 to 14 years. Due to the absolute poverty their families live in and the day to day hardships they are face with it is difficult for them to go for education.

Speed literacy program is an initiative of Vision21 through which we want to make an effort to give such children a hope and a start to get education.

While there are several large and small charitable organizations working on educating children the lack of resources and funds continues to hamper their efforts. When faced with literally 20 million illiterate kids the challenge is daunting to say the least. Especially with no help from the State and several cultural taboos to face, it is an uphill task.

Vision

To teach an illiterate child of 7 to 14 year of age to be able to read and write to grade 5 to 7 level and to be able to do simple basic maths in six months.

To do that with millions of children, first in Pakistan then throughout the world

To create an alumni who can then be guided and goaded into doing further things in life

To enable a platform for reaching for higher goals in life.

Rationale

Literacy is the foundation stone for education. Without literacy one cannot be educated. If one has achieved basic literacy skills providing education, academic, skill based and professional becomes a much easier task. Literacy also enables a person to share the ideas and thoughts and be able to learn other people’s ideas and thoughts.

Literacy allows one to know what is going on in the world much more effectively.

Each language has high frequency words. Thousand high frequency words have been identified in several languages.

A child aged between 7 and 14 who is fluent in spoken language has generally mastered 90 % of these high frequency words although they may not be able to identify such words by reading or be able to write these words, they are nevertheless well familiar with the concept of these words and know how to use them within the daily language.

The idea behind Speed literacy programme is to teach such children the written identification of these words and then give them the skill to write these words.

Since they are already aware of the words, and unconsciously fully aware of the use and basic underlying grammar they should be able to learn these two skills viz: of identification by reading and ability to write very quickly.

Learning abilities of children differ but we all know how incredibly quickly children learn.

Blogs by SLP Students

Why Education is Important? A Blog by SLP Student

Abida Gul is a student of the Speed Literacy Program at Vision21. She is 13 years old and had never attained the formal education. At the time of joining SLP she did not know how to write her name in Urdu, now after an year when she has learned how to read and write, she has got a medium to express her ideas and a path that leads to education, the ultimate need of humanity.

Abida aims to become a teacher and to start her own school for girls in her village in future. She has written a note on the importance of education stating purely her own thoughts on the subject.

Share this:

A Note by SLP Student

Waqas Khan is a student of the Speed Literacy Program at Vision21. He is 15 years old and he work in a motor workshop. Waqas has written a note on the day of Youm-e-Ishq-e-Rasool (SAW), stating his views on how do we understand Islam as a religion and what is the importance of the lifestyle our Prophet (SAW) has professed through out his life.

Categories

Group Discussion with Youth: Defining Moment

Meta

Awaam Blog is a forum to discuss and rethink the issues and concepts concerning norms and values, which have crept into the body of religious, social and cultural corpus. These combined with ignorance and stagnant intellect have restricted and hindered the pursuit of human welfare & happiness. We aim to rethink every issue with free mind.